Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Stock Price Up 0.5% – Should You Buy?

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) shares traded up 0.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $33.24 and last traded at $32.47. 1,496,683 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 63% from the average session volume of 4,019,360 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.29.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on VKTX shares. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Raymond James increased their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Maxim Group reduced their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $96.00 target price (down from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $102.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $97.29.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $36.86 and a 200 day moving average of $52.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.59 billion, a P/E ratio of -32.24 and a beta of 0.90.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.25) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viking Therapeutics

In other news, CFO Greg Zante sold 50,309 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total value of $2,150,709.75. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 165,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,064,822.25. This represents a 23.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 54,215 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total value of $2,317,691.25. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 374,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,994,228.50. This trade represents a 12.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 299,014 shares of company stock worth $12,782,849. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VKTX. Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 66.7% in the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. FIL Ltd raised its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 116.8% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,203 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 648 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 170.2% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 851 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Viking Therapeutics Company Profile

Viking Therapeutics, Inc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development of novel therapies for metabolic and endocrine disorders. The company's lead drug candidate is VK2809, an orally available tissue and receptor-subtype selective agonist of the thyroid hormone receptor beta (TRß), which is in Phase IIb clinical trials to treat patients with biopsy-confirmed non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, as well as NAFLD.